Rivernuggets Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 If this has been covered before, I apologize. Are DeanG modded RF-7s comparable to the Reference IV line? Finally got the RF-7s out of storage and in our new house. After three weeks of listening they are on the harsh side for my ears. The RF-82s allow me to enjoy music for as long as I like. I'd like the same experience with the 7s. The mod's price is fine. Just would like some feedback before making the change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 My DeanG RF-7's sound very similar to the RF 63/83's. Dean uses a resisitor to bring down the horn resonant peak which may account for the harshness you are hearing. I highly recommend the DeanG x-over upgrade to your RF-7's and would also recommend a tube amp running the modded RF-7's. Search for (DeanG RF-7) and you will find more favorable posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 What are you driving the RF-7s with that the RF-82s sound better? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 I was using an HK AVR 525. Now using a vintage Kenwood KA-5002 to limp by until I can afford a UMC-1. With both receivers the 7s are more harsh than the 82s. I should mention the 7's bass is better than the 82s, but I think a change is needed in the 7's treble for my ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 [ I highly recommend the DeanG x-over upgrade to your RF-7's and would also recommend a tube amp running the modded RF-7's. What tube amp has the stones to push the RF-7's and handle their impedance dip? On a side note, untill I could afford the DG mod, Dean talked me through the resistor mod for the HF board. It cost about $2.00 per speaker and had a huge effect on romoving harshness. Took about 30 min. per speaker (I did my RC-7 also) after I did the first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yura Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 This is not the first time I hear about the harshness of the RF-7s, yet I don't understand it. I have an unmodified pair and i can't think of it's sound as harsh by any means. I have also RF-62 and while they are good, they are not nearly as good as the RF-7s (i know there is a size difference, but still). What's there so magical about the RF-83/83 that makes them better than RF-7s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 This is not the first time I hear about the harshness of the RF-7s, yet I don't understand it. I have an unmodified pair and i can't think of it's sound as harsh by any means. I have also RF-62 and while they are good, they are not nearly as good as the RF-7s (i know there is a size difference, but still). What's there so magical about the RF-83/83 that makes them better than RF-7s? I am with you Yura. I don't consider my RF-7s anywhere near "harsh" and describe the sound as clear and precise...After comparing them to the RF-83s it was the reason I didn't feel the newer model was an "upgrade," although a nice speaker whose highs were warmer, but not near the clarity of the RF-7. That being said, the only reason I can imagine the highs of the lower end Reference sounding better than an RF-7 is if they are being underpowered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockOn4Klipsch Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 I have unmodded 7's and I love the way they sound, I've thought about the modd for sometime to see what the fuss is about but I don't want to loose that 7 sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockOn4Klipsch Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 There's also got to be a reason why Klipsch brought the RF 7's and RF 5's back. Some people must have liked their sounds enough to warrant their comeback. Now only if the would put the larger tweeter and horn in the RF 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 This is not the first time I hear about the harshness of the RF-7s, yet I don't understand it. I have an unmodified pair and i can't think of it's sound as harsh by any means. I have also RF-62 and while they are good, they are not nearly as good as the RF-7s (i know there is a size difference, but still). What's there so magical about the RF-83/83 that makes them better than RF-7s? At lower to medium volumes, RF-7s are fine. My unmodded RF-7s were also harsh, however, at loud volumes and even with some pretty nice gear on the front end. Dean's mod helped considerably. If I still had them, I would try bi-amping RF-7s with a stout SS amp on the lower end and either tubes or a digital chip amp on the top. Its the big titanium driver on top, and the RF-7s are top heavy in stock form. I personally prefer aluminum and phenolic drivers for horns for listening to music, but my taste is not everyone elses. I also agree, however, that Reference IV's voicing is too laid back for my tastes, and given the choice between the two, I prefer the Reference III series. That's what makes this an interesting subjective hobby. Everyone hears things differently. Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 [ I highly recommend the DeanG x-over upgrade to your RF-7's and would also recommend a tube amp running the modded RF-7's. What tube amp has the stones to push the RF-7's and handle their impedance dip? On a side note, untill I could afford the DG mod, Dean talked me through the resistor mod for the HF board. It cost about $2.00 per speaker and had a huge effect on romoving harshness. Took about 30 min. per speaker (I did my RC-7 also) after I did the first one. I had the opportunity to hear Southern's RF-7's. In addition to the x-over mod, he was bi-amping the 7's with a beefy solid state amp on the woofers and a vintage Dynaco tube amp on the highs. Fricken awesome.......and smooooooth. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 What tube amp has the stones to push the RF-7's and handle their impedance dip? On a side note, untill I could afford the DG mod, Dean talked me through the resistor mod for the HF board. It cost about $2.00 per speaker and had a huge effect on romoving harshness. Took about 30 min. per speaker (I did my RC-7 also) after I did the first one. My Dynaco ST-70 has no problems with the RF-7's, since the Dynaco is only driving the horns on the RF-7's it is hardly being pushed causing the Dynaco to run at class A. Since the HF crossover section is a capacitive load I installed a 12 watt Mills resisitor across the speaker outputs on the tube amp to create a resistive load on the tube amp. Glad to hear that the resisitor mod made a big improvment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDover Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 I agree, I have RF-7 and have never touched them, all original as Klipsch made them. I listened to the RF-83 and they are nice but more refined sounding than the RF-7, the RF-83 lacked the presence that the RF-7's have and I quickly summed up that the RF-83 would not be an upgrade for me with how much I liked the RF-7 sound better! The reason Klipsch brought the RF-7 back is because in Germany they have been going crazy over the RF-7 out of all the Klipsch refrence speakers, and I can see why! Klipsch was just starting to discontinue the RF-7 when Germany was raving about them and buying them. There are several german articles out of the RF-7 ravings. They prefer the RF-7 over the RF-83 as well because of more "presence" the RF-7's have. I do not get harsh either. I think alot has to do with what gear some are running or something else in the chain. I use high-quality Solid-State and still do not get harsh! I do not get harsh at any volume and I have very good hearing, it's smooth yet very revealing. To me, the RF-7's are a much more magical speaker than the RF-83 with it's added presence and detail, but this will be subjective to how one likes their sound. I own many Klipsch speakers and yet still there is something special about the RF-7's that I have not been able to let them go. I will never attempt to touch my RF-7's because I do love the sound "AS IS" the way Klipsch made them, but to each his/her own. I'm happy just the way the RF-7 are! I also very much like the Phenolic sound in my Klipsch Heritage speakers. I really get tired of some saying how bad the K-400 horn is in the Klipschorn but each time I listen to my Klipschorn's they sound very smooth and nice, yet it's own unique sound that is a bit different than the trac-horn but both nice. I have both and like each horn sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Danke schön! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Danke schön! JB does it again! [] LMAO..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 What tube amp has the stones to push the RF-7's and handle their impedance dip? On a side note, untill I could afford the DG mod, Dean talked me through the resistor mod for the HF board. It cost about $2.00 per speaker and had a huge effect on romoving harshness. Took about 30 min. per speaker (I did my RC-7 also) after I did the first one. My Dynaco ST-70 has no problems with the RF-7's, since the Dynaco is only driving the horns on the RF-7's it is hardly being pushed causing the Dynaco to run at class A. Since the HF crossover section is a capacitive load I installed a 12 watt Mills resisitor across the speaker outputs on the tube amp to create a resistive load on the tube amp. Glad to hear that the resisitor mod made a big improvment. I believe the impedence dip is in the frequencies that the woofers cover, so it makes sense that your tube amp can handle the RF-7's tweeter. I was curious if there was a tube amp (besides the Silver Seven) that could drive the entire speaker with authority. The resistor mod had the largest bang per buck ratio of any mod I've ever done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 I was curious if there was a tube amp (besides the Silver Seven) that could drive the entire speaker with authority. I've heard frankphess DeanG RF-7's with his VRD monoblocks and I was impressed with the low end, it sounded very natural and extended lower then any tube amp I've heard. Then again I've never listened to the Silver Seven's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidness Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Just to add my 2¢: I, also, have never considered my RF-7's in any way 'harsh', ever. I loved them totally stock. I bought a Bob Latino 'Dynaco' ST-120 tube amp, a beefer version of the venerable ST-70. I originally drove both the HF & LF with the ST-120, and it sounded awesome. I updated the crossovers ala DeanG, and didn't hear much of a difference (maybe a little bit better... cleaner)... they still sound AWESOME. I now drive the HF with the ST-120 tube amp, and use 2 channels of my Emotiva XPA-5. The ST-120 was very good driving the LF, but I believe the solid-state XPA does a slighly better job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidness Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Since the HF crossover section is a capacitive load I installed a 12 watt Mills resisitor across the speaker outputs on the tube amp to create a resistive load on the tube amp. Since we are driving our RF-7's similarly, with solid state on the LF and the Dynaco on the HF, can you explain this 12-watt resisor mod you've mentioned. I don't think I've heard of this before. What value (in ohms) did you use and why? Is this a mod on the HF crossover board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Since we are driving our RF-7's similarly, with solid state on the LF and the Dynaco on the HF, can you explain this 12-watt resisor mod you've mentioned. I don't think I've heard of this before. What value (in ohms) did you use and why? Is this a mod on the HF crossover board? SET12 was the one who suggested adding the resisitor to my Dynaco. I put a 16 ohm loading resistor (two 8 ohm resisitors in series) across the output of the Dynaco amp. No mod to the crossover required. Here is the thread: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/132967.aspx?PageIndex=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.